


While I Hesitate, Time Passes Anyway

by catauthor



Category: FFC-Acrush (Band), QCYN2, THE9 (Band), fanxy red, youth with you 2, 青春有你2
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Matchmaking, Pining, Slow Burn, matchmaker!lin fan, small town, soccer player!keran
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27077962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catauthor/pseuds/catauthor
Summary: Keran has had a crush on Yuxin for ages. She's okay with just ignoring it, because she doesn't think that Yuxin will ever like her back. Lin Fan has different ideas. She takes on the challenge of getting something to happen between them, she doesn't really care what. She just wants Keran to be happy.
Relationships: Liu Yuxin/Lu Keran
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30
Collections: Cloud 9 Fic Fest





	While I Hesitate, Time Passes Anyway

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Cloud9 Fic Fest. Here's my prompt - lin fan had been worried about her best friend not getting a love life because she doesn't make any move at all and if she were to approach anybody she likes, she comes up cold and looking uninterested. it's up to lin fan to FINALLY get yuxin to notice that keran is attracted to her. aka matchmaker! lin fan
> 
> A couple of things - Keran is a soccer player instead of a basketball player simply because I think soccer is hotter, sorry to all my basketball players out there. All of the characters are the same age, in their senior year of high school. 
> 
> The title comes from Not Shy by ITZY :)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy <3

It was the week before Keran started her final year at high school and she was dreading it. Keran wasn’t a very studious person, she didn’t like to sit still for long periods of time, and she didn’t see why she had to be in class in the first place. The only positive thing about school starting was that it also meant the start of the soccer season.

Carmel High School had one of the best soccer teams in the state, and this would be the second year that Keran was on it. Last year, they had narrowly missed out on going to the finals, so the entire team was even more determined to make it this year. They had been practicing almost daily for the whole summer and Keran thought they had a pretty good shot of doing better this year.

After Keran had finished practice for the day, she skateboarded to the local park to hang out with her friends. Lin Fan had texted her about it earlier in the day, and Keran was excited to see people other than her teammates.

When she arrived at the park, she threw herself down next to Lin Fan. “Hey guys,” she said to the circle of people sitting in the grass.

It was mostly their group of friends from school and a couple of guys they were close to. Almost immediately, Keran noticed Yuxin looking at her and she couldn’t help but feel very self-conscious. She was still in her clothes from practice and was sweaty, and her hair was all over the place. She wanted to have a shower, but she hadn’t packed any clean clothes this morning, because she wasn’t exactly planning on doing this. She would’ve said no to Lin Fan if she knew that Yuxin would be here, although it should’ve been obvious.

Keran tried to ignore Yuxin, she didn’t want to stare at her or look like she was too interested in Yuxin’s conversation, so instead, she tuned into Lin Fan and Linyu’s discussion of the latest episode of Real Housewives.

It wasn’t desperately interesting, Lin Fan’s obsession with reality TV never was, so she resorted to ripping up the grass until Xukun started talking to her about soccer. He also played and was on their school’s boys’ team.

“Do you have a ball with you?” he asked.

Keran reached over and grabbed her bag, chucking the ball to him.

“Ok then, try and beat this!” He stood up and started bouncing the ball on his knees and feet. Keran laughed and jumped up.

“Is that the best you can do?”

~~~

When the sun started to go down, people started to leave. At this point, Keran and Xukun were long since bored of their little competition and were now talking about the various games their teams had played last year. Keran had somewhat forgotten about how gross she looked but was still actively trying not to look at Yuxin, who was sitting right in her periphery.

“Lu Keran! Let’s go!” Lin Fan yelled at her. Lin Fan and Keran were neighbours so would ride home together and would probably end up hanging out that evening.

Keran got up, said goodbye to Xukun with a slap to his back, and then she and Lin Fan were off, skating across town to their neighbourhood.

They went at a leisurely pace, which allowed Lin Fan to ask Keran why she wouldn’t stop ignoring Yuxin.

“She’s never going to like you back if you don’t talk to her.”

“I would prefer for her to not like me back than for her to think I’m a weirdo,” Keran responded. “I don’t want to act like some lovesick puppy around her.”

“But why don’t you think she’d like you back? You’re amazing.”

“Whatever, Lin Fan.” Keran rolled her eyes and glanced over at Lin Fan. “She’s Yuxin, that’s the problem, infinitely better than me.”

“If you’re so sure it won’t work out, then why don’t you just talk to her anyway. You might realise you’ve built her up too much in your head and she’s not as great as you imagined.”

“Fanfan, I’d be way too nervous to do that.” Keran groaned. She wanted to bang her head against the wall, but they were still skating so she couldn’t.

Lin Fan was silent until they pulled up at their houses. “Come over after dinner!” she yelled when Keran was about to enter her house. “We can watch Drag Race or something.”

Keran gave her a thumbs up.

~~~

That evening, when the Drag Race episode was over, Lin Fan and Keran were lying on Lin Fan’s bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Yuxin’s probably gay, you know,” Lin Fan said.

“Oh my God, can you just _shut up_!” Keran snapped. “I’m sick of hearing about this! I’m tired of it! I can handle it on my own.”

She rolled off the bed and grabbed her jacket from the floor.

“Where are you going?” Lin Fan asked.

“Home.” Keran slammed the door of Lin Fan’s bedroom, and a couple of seconds later, Lin Fan heard the front door slam too.

Lin Fan groaned into her hands. She was just trying to help! She thought that Keran and Yuxin would be a cute couple, and she knew that Keran was too shy to make a move on her own. Lin Fan just wanted Keran to be happy, but Keran seemed to want nothing to do with it.

\---

The next morning, Lin Fan sat on the step outside her house, waiting for Keran to come out. She really needed to apologise. Her intentions were good, but she had definitely pushed Keran too far.

“Keke,” she jumped up and yelled when Keran stepped outside. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve just shut up. It’s not my business, I just care about you a lot.”

“It’s okay Fanfan. I’m just stressed about the whole thing. I don’t need to hear about it all the time. You know I can handle it.”

That was the thing though, Keran couldn’t handle it. She was too shy and didn’t think much of herself. She couldn’t see why anyone would have a crush on her. Lin Fan knew that there was no reason why Yuxin wouldn’t like Keran. She was pretty, tall, funny and cute. Sure, it was entirely possible that Yuxin wasn’t interested, but Lin Fan thought the odds were pretty high that she could be swayed in a certain direction. There was no reason why Lin Fan couldn’t try.

~~~

When school started back up the next week, Keran was dismayed to discover that she was in the same maths class as Yuxin. Not only that, but the teacher sat them in alphabetical order, so they had to sit next to each other. Keran had never hated being treated like a child more.

But Mrs Lee was very strict. Keran would just have to put up with it and avoid staring at Yuxin as much as possible.

And, to make matters worse, Keran very quickly realised that Yuxin was much better at maths than her. Now she didn’t just have to worry about embarrassing herself by acting like a lovesick puppy, but also by looking like an idiot.

At lunch that day, Yuxin mentioned in passing that she and Keran were in the same maths class. She smiled at Keran while talking about it and Keran had to stop herself from melting.

~~~

Keran left soccer that evening at the same time that Yuxin was leaving her student council meeting. Yuxin had been voted in as vice-student body president at the end of last year and she totally deserved it because of how hard working and caring she was. Keran had voted for her.

When Keran noticed that Yuxin had seen her, she almost made a run for it. She was once again sweaty and dishevelled. Yuxin didn’t have to know how much time Keran spent looking gross.

But running would’ve been cowardly and definitely would have caused more problems than it would’ve solved, so Keran forced herself to slow down for Yuxin.

“Hey,” Yuxin said. “How was your day?”

“It was fine,” Keran responded. “Yours?”

“Good. You know how it is.”

Then they both went silent.

Keran didn’t know what to do. She didn’t really want to walk home with Yuxin, it would once again bring up the issue of her humiliating herself. But skating off would also be very embarrassing.

She decides the controlled embarrassment would be better.

“Ah, Yuxin, I’m sorry, but I have to get home quickly. I don’t want to miss dinner.”

“Oh, okay, see you tomorrow,” Yuxin said with a wave and a smile. Keran felt bad but sometimes these things have to be done.

“See ya,” Keran said and she skated away as fast as she could.

\---

If you were to ask Yuxin what she thought of Keran, she would say she likes her just fine, in the same way that she likes everyone in their friendship group. Keran is funny when she’s not shy, and she’s hard-working, which is something Yuxin really respects.

Keran is also pretty, but so is Lingzi and An Qi and Shuxin. Most girls are pretty, to be perfectly honest.

Yuxin also likes how Keran isn't afraid to be herself. She doesn’t seem to care when the boys tease her for wearing the same clothes as them or when the girls ask why she cuts her hair so short. It’s nice to have someone around who’s so themselves. It makes Yuxin feel a lot more comfortable.

But to Yuxin, Keran is just another girl in their group. A pretty girl, whom Yuxin has a lot of respect for, but it doesn’t go much deeper than that.

\---

Once again, Keran goes over to Lin Fan’s house after dinner.

“Lin Fan,” she whines, “Yuxin is going to think I’m dumb! I’m so bad at maths. And she’s going to think I’m gross because she keeps seeing me straight after soccer practice.” Keran slumped down on Lin Fan’s bed, clutching a pillow. She looked utterly dejected.

“It’s okay Keke.” Lin Fan tried to comfort her, but she didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t need Yuxin to like me. I just don’t want to embarrass myself in front of her.”

That wasn’t quite true. Keran really, _really_ wanted Yuxin to like her back, but she knew it wasn’t possible. To avoid embarrassing herself was the most she could ask for.

“Hey!” Lin Fan said after a couple of seconds. “What if you invited Yuxin to one of your games? Maybe she would think that you look sexy when you’re sweaty.” Keran threw a pillow at her. “I’m serious! She would see how hard you work and what a good player you are!”

“I can’t do that Fanfan,” Keran whined. “It’s too much like asking her out, and I know she doesn’t like me. It’s setting myself up for failure.”

Lin Fan couldn’t really dispute the idea that Yuxin didn’t have a crush Keran. She treated Keran in the same way that she treated everyone else.

“And,” Keran continued, “what if she isn't even gay? That would be double the amount of humiliation.”

“Keran. Don’t be stupid. Of course, she’s gay.”

\---

The next morning, Keran put on the outfit she had chosen the night before. She really wanted to show Yuxin that she could look put together. It was all black, because that made her look taller, and she was wearing her nice skinny jeans that she usually saved for special occasions because they also made her look taller.

Keran thought her height was her best feature.

She surveyed herself in the mirror for much longer than necessary, fluffing up her hair and checking her makeup. She usually didn’t really care what she looked like, but she felt like she had to overcompensate for all the times Yuxin had seen her looking messy.

When she met Lin Fan outside their houses to skate to school, Lin Fan whistled. Keran blushed but felt glad to know that she looked nice.

“Is there a special occasion?” Lin Fan asked.

“No.”

“Then why are you dressed so nice?”

“Just felt like it.”

“Oh my God! You’re trying to impress Yuxin.”

“No, I’m not!” Keran yelled, but her blush gave her away.

“Aww, Keke, that’s so cute! Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll think you look hot!”

Keran decided that that didn’t need a response.

~~~

“I really like your outfit,” Yuxin said, almost as soon as Keran had settled herself at her desk.

“Oh,” Keran said, glancing down. “Thank you.”

Her plan had worked! But she never expected Yuxin to actually mention her outfit. She didn’t know how to react.

“How was your weekend,” Yuxin asked. “Did you do anything?”

“No, not really. You?” Keran tried to muster up the enthusiasm to sound engaged in the conversation but her mind was elsewhere.

“I went into Hartford with Xueer and Shuxin.”

“That’s cool.”

Keran was hitting herself. Why was she like this? Her crush had complimented her and was now trying to start a conversation. This was a dream! But she couldn’t say anything. She kind of felt like crying.

~~~

After school, when Keran and Lin Fan were skating home, Lin Fan asked how it went.

“She complimented my outfit.”

“Wow! That’s great!” Lin Fan said.

“But then I freaked out and barely said anything to her for the rest of the lesson.”

“Oh, Keke. You really like her, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Keran said. She kind of felt sick.

~~~

Keran had liked Yuxin for ages. Before it was a crush it was just a casual admiration. Yuxin was so naturally cool and she didn’t care what other people thought about her. She was an amazing person who was always willing to help others, even if it majorly inconvenienced her.

That’s not to mention that Yuxin was probably the most beautiful girl Keran had ever seen.

Keran wasn’t sure when it turned into a crush. All of a sudden, she noticed that she was constantly daydreaming about Yuxin and thinking about holding her hand and kissing her and going on dates with her and sending her cute good morning texts (and possibly receiving some as well).

Her stomach would flip when she saw her, and she actively had to stop herself from staring at her.

And when Yuxin danced at the talent show the year before, Keran was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t look at Yuxin all week without thinking about it again and getting very turned on.

She had never had a crush this strong before. It was all a lot to deal with and Keran was too shy to know what to do.

~~~

Lin Fan, on the other hand, was getting a little sick of this. She understood that Keran was shy, but she was really going to have to put on her big girl pants if she wanted this to go anywhere.

Lin Fan also knew that Keran was very hot. But she needed to make sure that Yuxin knew this too. In her opinion, finding someone hot was the best way to realise that you have a crush on them, or maybe develop one.

She still thought her idea of getting Yuxin to come to a soccer game was a good one, she just had to go about it a different way.

~~~

The next day, Lin Fan carefully orchestrated her movements so that she would bump into Yuxin between classes.

When she saw Yuxin, she made a beeline towards her.

“Yuxin,” she called. “Wait up!”

Yuxin stopped and Lin Fan ran up to her.

“So, you know, the girls’ soccer team has their first game this weekend, and it’s at school, so I was wondering if you wanted to go together.” Lin Fan wasn’t sure why she sounded so nervous. She hoped Yuxin couldn’t tell.

There was a moment of panic on Yuxin’s face and then she said, “uhhh, I’m sorry, I’m busy this weekend. But I’ll see you at school next week.”

Then Yuxin speed-walked off. That wasn’t like Yuxin, she was usually so calm and collected.

\---

On Monday, Yuxin had a student council meeting after school again. She was very happy about it, considering it made avoiding Lin Fan easier. She didn’t know how to face her after Lin Fan had asked her on a date.

Lin Fan was cute and all, but not really Yuxin’s type.

But what was Yuxin’s type? She had never really thought about it.

The girls’ soccer team was still practicing when Yuxin walked past on her way past. It seemed that even winning their first game of the season that weekend wouldn’t make them slow down.

But then Yuxin noticed Keran. One of her teammates had just slapped Keran’s butt, causing Keran to turn around and jump on her while laughing. It was cute. But, taking into account the black bandana she was using to hold her hair off her face, and her practice clothes, Yuxin thought she also looked kind of hot.

Yuxin forced herself to keep walking. She was shocked by this thought. She had never really thought about Keran like that, or at least realised that she thought of Keran like that, but now she couldn’t work out why not. Keran looked hot last week when she dressed up for school, she looked hot when she and Xukun were messing around with the soccer ball, and she looked hot when she was skateboarding around town.

To be honest, Yuxin’s newfound attraction to Keran wasn’t something she really wanted to deal with at this moment. It was a bit overwhelming. Maybe she would allow herself to think about it tonight, when she was exhausted and ready for sleep. 

\---

Lin Fan was getting tired of this waiting game. She needed to do something about it.

But first, Keran had this strange idea that Yuxin might not even be gay. Lin Fan thought it was ridiculous, but she needed some concrete evidence to prove Keran wrong.

That night she decided to text Yuxin and do some sort of investigative work.

_ Lin Fan _

_Hey, I was just wondering, do you listen to girl in red?_

_ Yuxin _

_Who?_

_Also, why?_

_ Lin Fan _

_NVM_

_Do you have a crush on anyone?_

_ Yuxin _

_Umm… no…_

_Why????_

_ Lin Fan  _

_Who’s your celebrity crush?_

_ Yuxin _

_I don’t have one_

_Lin Fan, what are you doing?_

_ Lin Fan _

_I’m being investigative!!_

_ Yuxin _

_What are you investigating?_

Lin Fan didn’t know what to say. This was a bad idea.

_ Yuxin _

_Are you trying to ask if I’m a lesbian?_

_ Lin Fan _

_Maybe…_

_ Yuxin _

_Why_

_ Lin Fan _

_No reason_

_ Yuxin _

_You can tell me_

Lin Fan didn’t respond for 5 minutes. Yuxin decided to be brave.

_ Yuxin _

_Do you have a crush on me or something?_

_ Lin Fan _

_NO!!!!_

Lin Fan had really screwed up this one. She didn’t want to confuse Yuxin. This was operation get Yuxin to like Keran, not operation get Yuxin to think Lin Fan liked her.

_ Lin Fan _

_I have a crush on Lingzi. But pls don’t tell her_

_ Yuxin _

_Oh. Ok. That’s cool_

_ Lin Fan _

_Ok, but are you?_

_A lesbian?_

_Sorry if you don’t want to answer_

_ Yuxin _

_I am. It’s not really a secret though_

_ Lin Fan _

_This is embarrassing_

_I’ll talk to you tomorrow_

Lin Fan already knew that Yuxin was a lesbian. Like Yuxin said, it wasn’t a secret. But it was good to know for sure, or else she would feel awful if she tried to get Yuxin and Keran together and Yuxin totally wasn’t interested.

 _Gosh_ , Lin Fan though, _the lengths she would go to for Keran_.

~~~

Lin Fan was getting suspicious. For the rest of the week, and the next one, not only did she have to put up with Keran’s sneaky glances at Yuxin, but she also had to deal with Yuxin doing the same. She had tried to tell Keran about it, but it seemed that Keran was unwilling to even entertain the thought that something might’ve changed.

Lin Fan needed to do something about it.

She cornered Yuxin after school one day and asked her if she wanted to walk home together and Yuxin agreed, although she looked suspicious.

“Yuxin, I have something to tell you,” Lin Fan said when they were far away enough from the school and the other students.

“What?”

“Keran has a crush on you.”

Yuxin looked shocked, she turned to stare at Lin Fan. When she had recovered from the shock she replied. “Are you sure you should be telling me this?”

“I don’t know. But Keran is useless and I’m getting a bit sick of this whole thing.”

“To be honest, Lin Fan, I’m not sure I believe you. Keran’s always very cold towards me.”

“That’s because she has a crush on you! But I’m going to prove it!”

“Ok, but if you’re right, what do you want me to do about it?”

“Ask her out! I always see you staring at her.”

Once again, Yuxin looked shocked. “No, I don’t!”

Lin Fan laughed. “Yes, you do. Anyways, I’m gonna prove it to you and then you can ask her out.”

Yuxin didn’t feel like arguing anymore. “Fine.”

“Yay!” Lin Fan cheered, doing a little dance that made Yuxin laugh.

\---

On Tuesday, Lin Fan cornered Yuxin again, this time before school started. She pulled Yuxin into the bathroom and checked to see that all the stalls are empty.

“Ask Keran to study with you tonight. You’re in the same maths class, right?” she said when she was sure they were alone.

“What, why?” Yuxin replied.

“Just because. Studying together is good. Besides, if she doesn’t like you then there’s no problem, right?”

“Ugh. Fine.”

Yuxin then marched out of the bathroom. Lin Fan counted this as a win.

~~~

Yuxin decided to do it at lunch. In front of everyone. Lin Fan struggled to refrain from slapping her.

“Keran, do you want to come over to mine to study for the maths test after school?” she asked during a lull in the conversation.

Keran, looking like a deer in headlights, stammered a bit before responding, “uhh I’ll have to ask my mom first.” Keran was 18 and she’d never had to ask her mom for permission for this type of thing before. Yuxin knew that.

But Yuxin wasn’t going to argue. “Sounds good. I hope you can.”

Keran stared down at her food. Then she stood suddenly. “Sorry guys, I have to go and … talk to one of my teachers. See you later.”

She was gone in a flash.

“That was weird,” said Xukun.

Lin Fan gave Yuxin a look and Yuxin rolled her eyes in response.

~~~

The next day, Keran panicked while standing in the lunch line. They didn’t have maths today so ignoring Yuxin had been easy. But she didn’t want Yuxin to think she disliked her, so she had to force herself to sit with them.

She stared at the lunch table where Yuxin, Lin Fan, Shuxin, Keni, Xiai, Xukun and three other guys were sitting, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea.

Lin Fan was watching Keran stare at them. If Lin Fan knew Keran well enough, and she did, she would bet that Keran was freaking out about having to see Yuxin again.

A kind friend would’ve been supportive and made sure that Keran felt comfortable. But Lin Fan was done being nice, it wasn’t working.

So, she whispered to Yuxin to look at Keran.

Yuxin listened and as soon as Keran and Yuxin locked eyes, Keran quickly turned away and Lin Fan watched as a blush spread up her neck and face.

“See, Yuxin,” she said smugly.

Yuxin just made a sighing noise in response.

And when Keran had her lunch, she sat with Naiwan and Keyin instead.

It might not have been the kindest thing to do, but it was for the greater good, Lin Fan reasoned.

~~~

On Friday, Shuxin’s parents were out of town and, in classic Shuxin style, she was hosting a party.

By midnight, everyone was pretty drunk. Keran, Lin Fan, Yuxin and a couple of their friends were in Shuxin’s lounge.

“Hey Yuxin,” Keran slurred. She was lying on the couch and was probably the drunkest of all of them. Yuxin was sitting cross-legged on the floor facing the couch and Lin Fan was next to her.

“Yeah?” Yuxin replied.

“You’re so pretty.” She paused and burped a little. “You’re so pretty and cool. How are you so cool?”

“Oh,” Yuxin said. “Thank you.” She refused to look at Lin Fan. She knew what Lin Fan would be doing.

“I wish I could be as cool as you. You’re the coolest and prettiest girl in the world.” Keran reached out and fumbled around until she managed to poke one of Yuxin’s cheeks.

Yuxin tried to suppress her smile but ultimately failed.

And then Keran rolled off the couch and thumped onto the floor. She started giggling, and then looked at Lin Fan.

“Yuxin wouldn’t do that. She’s too cool.” She sounded sad all of a sudden and Lin Fan reached out to pet Keran’s hair.

Yuxin kind of wished she was the one doing it.

\---

The next week, Yuxin couldn’t help but search for Keran in every room she entered.

She liked to think it was just because Keran was really pretty and made Yuxin laugh. She wasn’t willing to acknowledge that the past week of paying a lot of attention to Keran, under Lin Fan’s guidance, had made her realise how much more Keran is. How hard-working, and kind, and what an all-around great person she was.

It was almost pathetic.

On Sunday evening, they were hanging out at the park once again. Yuxin was lying in the grass on her stomach, trying to talk to Shuxin, but she couldn’t focus. Xukun and Keran were once again competing to see who could keep the ball in the air the longest, or something like that.

Keran was wearing a pair of leggings with shorts over top, and Yuxin was actively trying to stop drooling

“Huh,” Yuxin said when Shuxin jabbed her in the ribs.

“I _said_ ‘have you seen the new episode of We Are Blazing yet?’ But it doesn’t matter. What are you staring at?” Shuxin said exasperatedly.

Yuxin turned her head to look at Shuxin. “I’m not staring!”

“Sure, you’re not.” Yuxin made a hmph sound. “What’s so interesting about Keran?”

“Nothing.”

“Suuuure.”

~~~

“What do you think made Mr Hawkes quit being an engineer to work here?” Keran asked as they were packing up after class.

“Being an engineer probably sucks. I think it would be really stressful.”

“Being a teacher is really stressful too.”

“True,” Yuxin paused. “It probably makes him happy.”

“That’s nice. To be honest, that’s all I really want, to find a job that makes me happy,” Keran said as they walk out of the room.

Yuxin smiled. “Me too.”

“What would that be for you?” Keran asked.

“It’s dumb, but I’d love to be a professional dancer.”

“That’s so cool! I can imagine you being amazing at that.”

“Thanks, Keran,” Yuxin looked down at her feet. “I have to get going. See you at lunch.”

Keran smiled. “See you.”

 _God_ , Yuxin thought. _Keran is the best_. Keran’s smile was stuck in her head all day.

~~~

At the end of the day, Keran and Yuxin finished up at the same time. When Yuxin saw Keran walking in front of her she ran up to her. Keran was holding her skateboard in one hand and texting with the other.

“Hey, Keran.”

“Hey,” she said, shoving her phone in her pocket.

“Do you want to walk home together?”

“Oh,” Keran said. “Sure.”

They walked in silence for a while.

“Do you want to hear something really funny?” Keran asked.

“What is it?”

Keran then proceeded to break into a very long and convoluted story about what one of her teammates had done at their last after-game party. Yuxin didn’t entirely understand, Keran kept jumping all over the place, but she was just happy to listen to Keran. She was so enthusiastic, and she would wave her free hand around at the funniest parts. It was probably the cutest thing Yuxin had ever seen.

When they got to the corner of Yuxin’s street, they say goodbye to each other and Yuxin watched Keran walk away.

She had come to a realisation during the walk home. She liked Keran, a lot. And she wasn’t really sure how she hadn’t noticed her before.

She hadn’t really considered her conversation with Lin Fan that much, because Lin Fan always came up with crazy ideas, but she was thinking about taking it a bit more seriously now.

Yuxin walked the rest of the way home with the biggest smile on her face.

\---

Keran’s soccer team had been doing very well in the early part of the season. They were a shoo-in for state champions at this point, and Keran was ecstatic.

However, their upcoming game was against one of their fiercest rivals and the whole team was really nervous. Their coach had even told them to make sure to invite extra people to come along to give them much needed support.

So, Keran asked her friends if they wanted to come, every single one of them. (In reality, she only really wanted to invite one person, but she didn’t want to make her crush obvious).

Most of them said they weren't sure if they could come, which Keran understood, despite being a bit sad about it.

But when she asked Yuxin, Yuxin had given her a bright smile and said she would definitely be there.

That led to the current situation; Keran’s heart leaping out of her chest when she saw Yuxin holding a banner with her name on it and cheering as loud as she could.

~~~

Yuxin was very nervous about going to the game. She and Keran had never been that close before, so she wasn’t sure if coming specifically to cheer her on was even socially acceptable. But Keran had invited her so she decided that it would be fine.

Yuxin and Lin Fan had made banners together the night before, which meant no matter how nervous Yuxin got, she couldn’t back out, not without major judgement from Lin Fan.

When Keran stepped onto the field, Yuxin held up her banner and cheered Keran’s name. When Keran finally noticed her, she broke into the biggest smile Yuxin had ever seen.

And _wow_.

Keran was beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful person that Yuxin had ever seen. She had a cute little snaggletooth that poked out and massive dimples. Yuxin wouldn’t mind staring at Keran like this for a couple more hours.

Yuxin just stared, her heart beating a million miles an hour.

And Keran was staring back.

Yuxin let herself hope that Lin Fan was right.

~~~

After the game, Yuxin built up her courage. She was standing near the door to the changing rooms so she could talk to Keran when she came out.

Lin Fan was talking to one of her other friends so Yuxin was all alone.

When she saw Keran, she waved and Keran came over to talk to her.

“You played amazing today! Congrats on winning,” Yuxin exclaimed.

“Thanks, Yuxin,” Keran replied, giving Yuxin such a genuine smile that Yuxin couldn’t help but melt.

Then Yuxin cleared her throat. “Would you like to hang out now? We could go to the park or something.”

Keran glanced behind her to where her teammates were gathered. “I would, but it’s a tradition for the team to celebrate together when we win.”

Yuxin tried not to feel disappointed. She knew it wasn’t anything to do with her, but she couldn’t help but feel sad. “Some other time, then?”

“Sure,” Keran said. “See ya. And thanks for coming today. It was really nice of you.”

“Anytime, Keran.”

Yuxin walked back over to Lin Fan. She didn’t say anything.

“Did you just talk to Keran?” Lin Fan asked.

“Yeah, I asked her if she wanted to hang out, but she said she couldn’t.” Yuxin knew it wasn’t anything personal, but she couldn’t help feeling like a kicked puppy.

“Aww, that sucks. But we can hang out! What do you want to do?”

“I think I might just go home, sorry,” Yuxin responded. “I have a lot of homework to do.”

“Okay then. I’ll see you on Monday,” Lin Fan smiled.

“See you then.” Yuxin smiled, then walked away.

~~~

Lin Fan’s brain was going a million miles an hour. Why did Yuxin look so sad that Keran couldn’t hang out with her? Keran saying no definitely wasn’t anything to do with Yuxin, and Keran would’ve probably gone out of her way to make sure that Yuxin wasn’t hurt.

Maybe Yuxin just really wanted to hang out with Keran and was disappointed that she couldn’t, not that Keran had said no.

But why?

Then it clicked. Lin Fan couldn’t believe she had been so stupid.

Yuxin finally had a crush on Keran!

It was so obvious.

\---

The next weekend Shuxin had planned another small party and Lin Fan thought it was the perfect opportunity to put her plan into motion.

She texted their entire friend group about the plan and exactly what they had to say. All Lin Fan had to do was get a game of truth or dare started and make sure that Yuxin and Keran were playing. Keran was a very honest drunk so Lin Fan thought she could make some significant progress.

Keran and Lin Fan arrived at the party together at around 10 PM. Lin Fan’s job was first to get Keran tipsy. An Qi was doing the same with Yuxin.

Around an hour later An Qi and Lin Fan made eye contact across the living room. They both nodded at each other and An Qi pulled open her phone to text the group chat.

Then Shuxin stood up. “Who wants to play truth or dare?” A couple of their friends agreed and started forming a circle on the floor.

“Come on Keran, let’s play,” Lin Fan said, dragging her up.

When everyone was settled, An Qi immediately started with her first question. “Keran, what’s your type?”

But Keran wasn’t a stupid drunk. “This isn't how truth or dare works!” she protested.

“Just answer the question,” Xiai yelled.

“Fine.” She sat in silence for a second. “Umm, shorter than me. Maybe…. short hair, smart, pretty.”

Yuxin was staring intensely at the floor, and Lin Fan could see a slight blush on her cheeks.

An Qi and Lin Fan made eye contact again. Lin Fan thought that her plan might actually work.

But they couldn’t make the game look too suspicious, so Keni asked Keyin what her most embarrassing moment was.

After a couple more rounds of harmless questions, it came to Shuxin. “Yuxin! I’m not going to ask whether or not you have a crush on someone because I already know you do.” Yuxin opened her mouth to protest but Shuxin kept talking. “So, is your crush in this circle?”

This made everyone shut up, and Yuxin looked very put on the spot.

“Well, we’re waiting,” Shuxin said.

“Yes.” Her cheeks had gone slightly red and she was staring very intently at a piece of carpet.

One round later, it came to Linyu. “I really liked Shuxin’s question, so I’m going to copy it. I hope you don’t mind.” Shuxin laughed. “Keran, is your crush in the circle.”

Lin Fan knew that Keran wasn’t stupid. She had probably worked out what they were trying to do.

But Keran still had to answer. “Yes.”

Shuxin made a loud ooh-ing noise and everyone laughed.

And Keran looked at Yuxin, who also happened to be looking right back. Usually, she would’ve looked away immediately, but the alcohol was making her bold, so she let their gazes settle on each other for a while.

Another couple of rounds later, Xiai went off-script. “Keran, who do you think is the prettiest person in the room?”

Keran laughed, “Keyin, of course.”

“Stop lying Keke!” Lin Fan said.

“I’m not lying,” Keran responded. She glared at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan didn’t care. “Yes, you are!”

“Fine. Yuxin.” Keran took a big swig of her drink. Lin Fan grinned at Xiai. Who would’ve thought that would actually work?

\---

Lin Fan’s plan was definitely achieving something. She had just come to the final push.

At school on Monday, Lin Fan cornered Yuxin as she was coming out of the bathroom.

“Come with me,” she said. She grabbed Yuxin’s hand and began dragging her to an empty classroom.

When they were in the classroom and the door was shut, and Lin Fan was sure that no one could hear them, she turned to Yuxin.

“Yuxin, you have to be straight up with me.” Yuxin looked concerned. “What do you think about Keran?”

“She’s cool, I guess,” Yuxin said.

“I’m gonna need more than that, Yuxin.”

“I don’t know! What do you want me to say?”

“Ugh, whatever,” Lin Fan groaned. “Okay, I’ll get right to the point. Do you have a crush on Keran?”

Yuxin began spluttering and her face started getting very red. “What?”

Lin Fan didn’t need Yuxin to answer properly, that reaction was enough.

“So, you do.” Yuxin didn’t protest. “Do you think that Keran likes you back?”

Lin Fan didn’t think it was possible for Yuxin’s face to get any redder, but it did.

“Just answer the question,” Lin Fan said after Yuxin hadn’t responded for a while.

Yuxin let out a nervous giggle. “I think so. Maybe.” Yuxin covered her face. “Ugh, that sounds so conceited.”

“Okay, good. Now, Yuxin, I need you to listen very closely. Ask Keran out. She’s too shy to do it herself but I guarantee she’ll say yes.”

Yuxin stared at her. “… what?”

“I don’t know how much clearer I can be. If you ask Keran out, which I think you want to do, she will say yes. Guaranteed.”

“Oh.”

“So, are you going to?”

“Um, okay. Yes. Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Yay!” Lin Fan cheered. “I knew you would.”

\---

Yuxin thought that she might as well bite the bullet and do it quickly. The longer she waited the more she would psych herself out.

So, after school, when her student council meeting had finished. Yuxin sat on one of the benches next to the field, waiting for Keran to leave the changing room.

When Keran walked out, Yuxin’s heart started racing a million miles an hour. _Holy shit_. It had suddenly become real. Yuxin mustered up the strength to smile at Keran, and Keran went bright red.

Keran started walking towards her and Yuxin stood up, resisting the urge to wipe her sweaty palms on her pants.

“Hey,” Keran said.

“Do you want to walk home together?” Keran nodded and they set off.

~~~

Keran was confused. She and Yuxin had walked home together before, but Yuxin had never waited for her.

Keran wished that she wasn’t still so tired, and she was sure that she was still looking gross, even though she had showered. She wished that she knew that Yuxin would be waiting for her.

“Do you want me to carry your bag?” Yuxin said, gesturing to Keran’s gear bag that was hanging off her shoulder.

Keran’s heart skipped a beat and she willed it to calm down. “No, it’s fine. But thank you.”

“How was practice today?” Yuxin asked and they slipped into an easy conversation about their days and the funny things that had happened to them.

And then Yuxin paused and took a deep breath. Keran looked over at her.

“Keran,” she said.

“Yeah?”

Yuxin took another deep breath. “I was wondering if you would want to go out with me sometime.”

Keran’s eyes widened and her palms started getting sweaty.

She didn’t know what to say.

“Why are you asking me out when I look like this? I’m supposed to look nice, not sweaty and gross!” Keran whined.

“It’s okay, Keran. You look beautiful no matter what.”

Keran’s heart couldn’t take this. It was too much for her to handle. First, her crush asking her out, and then her crush calling her beautiful.

“Well, if you compliment me, then sure, I’ll go out with you.” Keran looked at Yuxin and watched as her smile grew.

“Cool.”

Yuxin and Keran both couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the way to Yuxin’s house. They didn’t say anything, but they kept glancing at each other.

When they reached Yuxin’s street, Keran said goodbye and had to force herself to actually leave. She would have liked to have spent the rest of the day with Yuxin, but she couldn’t.

“Bye, Keran,” Yuxin said, and she sounded so happy that Keran had to try not to cry.

~~~

When Keran got to her house she walked right past and knocked on Lin Fan’s door instead.

“You’ll never believe it,” she said when Lin Fan opened the door. “Yuxin just asked me out!”

“Holy shit, that was fast!” Lin Fan exclaimed.

“What do you mean ‘That was fast’?” Keran asked.

“Umm,” Lin Fan tried to find the right words. “I might’ve suggested to Yuxin that if she asked you out, you would say yes.”

“Holy shit.” Keran opened her mouth to say something else, but Lin Fan cut her off.

“She was very happy when I told her that you would say yes, and she wouldn’t have asked you out if she didn’t want to.”

Keran didn’t know how to feel about this, but she didn’t want to ruin her good mood. And Lin Fan was right, Yuxin wasn’t one to give in to peer pressure.

“Thanks, Lin Fan,” Keran said.

\---

Keran and Yuxin went on their first date that weekend. Yuxin borrowed her parents’ car and picked Keran up. She had considered bringing flowers but felt like that might be laying it on too thick. She didn’t want Keran to think she was overthinking this too much, even though she definitely was.

“You look beautiful,” she said to Keran when she got in the car and Keran’s blush and small smile made her feel on top of the world

Yuxin drove them to a movie theatre and brought them popcorn and drinks. When the movie started, she tried to work up the courage to hold Keran’s hand but couldn’t get herself to do it.

But Keran could, apparently, and soon their fingers were interlaced and Yuxin was grinning so hard it hurt.

After that little failure of confidence, Yuxin was determined to take the romantic lead, so to speak. When they left the theatre to go to a nearby ice cream parlour, she reached for Keran’s hand herself, giving it a soft squeeze.

When she looked over at Keran, she was grinning, just like Yuxin.

They ate their ice creams in a small booth at the back of the shop and didn’t say much. Yuxin was much too nervous, and she supposed that Keran was too. But it was nice to be in her presence, knowing that Keran was nervous because of _her_.

~~~

Yuxin drove Keran home. When they got to her house, Keran was hesitant to leave the car. She was trying to stall because she didn’t want the night to be over.

Yuxin had held her hand the entire drive home and Keran had butterflies in her stomach the whole time. She felt so special.

“Hey, Keran,” Yuxin said.

“Yeah,” Keran said, looking over. And then Yuxin was placing her hand on her cheek and leaning in, and then Keran was leaning in too and then they were kissing. Keran slung her arm over Yuxin’s shoulder and kissed her harder, using her arm to pull Yuxin in. Keran didn’t feel like fireworks were going off, or whatever she was supposed to feel, but she did feel happy. She felt so, so happy, like this was totally where she was meant to be.

When Keran pulled away slightly to take a breath, Yuxin was staring at her.

“What?” Keran laughed softly.

“Nothing, I just had a really great time tonight.”

“Me too. What do you want to do next time?”

Yuxin smiled. “We can work it out later.”

“Sounds great.”

Keran opened the passenger door to leave, but instead quickly spun around and gave Yuxin a small kiss on the lips.

“See ya.”

Yuxin sat there feeling stunned.

~~~

Keran walked inside and watched as Yuxin’s car pulled away. She was just about to walk upstairs when she heard a knock on the door.

Lin Fan. Of course.

“Ok, you have to tell me everything!”

“Let’s go upstairs first.” Keran’s parents were very nice and very supportive, but she didn’t really need them hearing this.

When they were upstairs and sitting on Keran’s bed, Lin Fan continued.

“Hurry up! How was it?”

“It was really nice.”

“Just nice? You have to give me more than that!”

“I don’t know! It was just nice!”

“Lu Keran!” Lin Fan almost screeched. “Did you hold hands?”

“Yes, Lin Fan, this isn't middle school.”

“Ok, then did you kiss?”

Keran shrieked and covered her face with her hands.

“So, you did!” Lin Fan yelled.

“Yes.”

“Oh my God.”

Keran flopped over on the bed, still covering her face.

“Was it good?” Lin Fan asked.

Keran didn’t move, she just nodded.

“Wow, Keran. You should just ask her to be your girlfriend already.”

Keran threw a pillow at Lin Fan. “Don’t be stupid, it’s way too soon for that!”

~~~

But after Lin Fan had gone home, and Keran was in bed, she couldn’t help but think about it.

Kissing Yuxin as much as she wanted, walking home with her, being able to stare at her without being worried about Yuxin catching her.

Yuxin was so great. She was hard-working, genuine, very sweet, and always knew the right thing to say to make Keran feel fuzzy.

Keran heard a buzzing from her phone, and she reached over to pick it up.

_ Yuxin _

_I had a really good time tonight_

_Good night x_

Keran smiled widely and stared up at her ceiling. Did Yuxin usually send x’s to people? She didn’t think so, Yuxin had never sent her one in the past. She felt like a giddy little girl, and that was exactly what she was. Yuxin made her giddy.

_ Keran _

_Good night x_

When she finally got to sleep that night, she was still smiling. 

\---

At lunch on Monday, Yuxin got to the cafeteria late, and she sat next to Keran. This was different.

“Hey,” Yuxin said.

“Hey,” Keran said shyly, trying to hold back a smile.

“Holy shit,” Shuxin said. “You guys went on a date this weekend, right? Lin Fan told me.”

“Oh, yeah. We did,” Yuxin said, while Keran glared at Lin Fan across the table. Lin Fan just gave her a cheeky grin.

“Ahh, you’ve grown up,” Shuxin said. “It was just a couple of weeks ago that Yuxin was so distracted staring at Keran’s butt that she couldn’t talk to me.”

Yuxin and Keran both went bright red.

“Shut up, Shuxin,” Yuxin groaned.

“I’m just telling the truth” Shuxin protested.

“She is,” interrupted Lin Fan. “Keran used to stare at Yuxin all the time. It was ridiculous.”

“Lin Fan, you’re supposed to protect my secrets,” Keran said, throwing one of her fries at her.

“I suffered through your crush for a long time, I deserve to complain about it!”

Keran just sighed and then Yuxin moved her leg so her knee was pressed right against Keran’s. Keran felt giddy again.

~~~

On Tuesday, Keran and Yuxin walked home together after school.

When they were far away enough from school that Keran was sure that their friends couldn’t see them and tease them, she laced her fingers with Yuxin’s. Yuxin squeezed her hand and Keran squeezed back.

They didn’t say much on their walk home, they were just comfortable in each other’s presence.

When they reached Yuxin’s house, Keran prepared herself to say goodbye.

“Would you like to come in and study? We could do some maths,” Yuxin said, but she had a cheeky smile that made Keran feel like that might not be her true intention.

“That would be nice.”

~~~

Yuxin’s parents weren’t home and Yuxin brought Keran up to her bedroom.

Keran sat on the edge of the bed, looking around. It was exactly what she expected Yuxin’s bedroom to look like. It was pretty plain, with very little decoration, and was very tidy. But she did have two stuffed toys on her bed, which made Keran smile.

Yuxin hung her jacket up on the back of her door and then sat next to Keran.

“So,” Keran said. “What did you want to start with.”

“I had some ideas,” Yuxin said. She put her hand on Keran’s thigh, and when Keran looked at her, she cupped Keran’s cheek and pulled her in.

Keran kissed back, of course, and she was glad that she hadn’t got the wrong idea about this.

Yuxin’s hand was rough on her cheek, but it felt so nice. They kissed for a while, but they were in an awkward position and Keran’s neck was starting to hurt. Keran gathered her courage and then broke the kiss for just long enough to straddle Yuxin.

Keran decided she liked this position. Yuxin looked beautiful like this. And from this angle, Keran could kiss Yuxin a lot deeper. She put her hands around Yuxin’s waist, so she could pull her closer. Keran could feel Yuxin’s body heat and she felt like she was going crazy. If Keran had wanted to, she could’ve pushed Yuxin’s shirt up and touched her bare skin. But at this point, she wasn’t sure she could handle that.

Keran pulled away. “Touch my butt,” she said, and immediately went back to kissing Yuxin.

Keran sighed into the kiss when Keran felt Yuxin put her hands on her butt. Yuxin squeezed slightly and Keran pulled herself in closer.

God, Keran couldn’t handle this. She thought she might explode.

Their torsos were pressed together now and Keran could feel the shape of Yuxin’s boobs through their clothing. She had thought about Yuxin’s boobs a lot and they were definitely not disappointing.

Keran moved her hands to Yuxin’s hair, pulling on it softly and massaging her scalp. She could feel Yuxin’s breathing getting heavier.

Keran felt good. This was the first time she had made out with someone, and she could understand the hype.

Yuxin’s hands started moving up until they were under Keran’s shirt, rubbing small circles into her skin.

~~~

When they were both too out of breath to continue, they lay next to each other on the bed.

Keran looked over to Yuxin. “Why do you like me?” she asked.

Maybe Keran wanted some positive validation, or maybe she just wanted to make sure this wasn’t a joke, although she was pretty confident it wasn’t.

“Well,” Yuxin paused. “You’re really pretty, and super-hot, obviously.” Keran giggled. “And you’re cute and hard-working and you’re just nice to be around. It’s hard to explain, Keran. I just like you.”

Keran covered her face with her hands, trying to cover her blush.

“Hey Keran,” Yuxin said, while gently pulling on Keran’s wrist. “Look at me.”

Keran managed to move her hands and look over at Yuxin.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend,” Yuxin asked.

“Holy shit,” Keran breathed. In her mind, she was panicking. She seriously never thought this would happen. Thank God for Lin Fan. “Yes, obviously!”

“Good,” Yuxin said. Then she rolled over so she was hovering over Keran, with her hands on either side of her head.

Keran looked beautiful like this. Her cheeks were still flushed, and her hair was spread all over the pillow. Her mouth was slightly open, and her lips were swollen.

They stared at each other for a while. Keran eventually pulled Yuxin down more with her hands on the back of her neck. They stared at each other, nose to nose, and then Keran smiled and pulled Yuxin down all the way.

\---

A couple of weeks later was the last game of the soccer season. Keran’s team had made it into the finals, which was being held on the school field.

Yuxin had made a sign to cheer Keran on with, this time without Lin Fan’s encouragement.

When Yuxin showed Lin Fan the sign while they were sitting in the bleachers, Lin Fan grinned. “Wow, Yuxin. What character development!”

Yuxin just laughed.

~~~

Keran’s team had won the game, and, naturally, Keran had scored the only goal.

When the final whistle blew, the entire stadium erupted. Keran’s team looked shellshocked. When they finally realised what had just happened, they started screaming. Xiaoyun jumped in Keran’s arms and they spun around together.

When they had calmed down a little bit, they went to shake hands with the other team, who looked very disappointed.

Slowly the audience started to leave the bleachers, and the teams started to collect their stuff.

Yuxin made her way down the steps to see Keran.

“Hey babe,” Yuxin said when she was next to Keran.

“Hey,” Keran said, still breathless.

“Come here,” Yuxin said, opening her arms. “I’m so proud of you.”

“But I’m all gross!”

“I don’t care. Please give me a hug.”

Keran glared at Yuxin but eventually relented and let Yuxin wrap her in a tight embrace.

“You did incredible,” Yuxin said, still hugging Keran and rubbing her back.

“Thanks,” Keran murmured against the top of Yuxin’s head.

When Keran had let go, Yuxin pulled her back in, this time for a kiss. Nothing to heated, Keran was pretty shy after all, but Yuxin couldn’t help it.

~~~

That evening, one of the team members had arranged a party to celebrate their win. Usually, the team would celebrate alone, but this was such a big win that everyone wanted to get involved.

Shuxin had organised a game of truth or dare.

“Yuxin,” Xiai said. “Who do you think is the prettiest person in the room?”

Yuxin didn’t even need to think. “Well, obviously, it’s Keran,” she said, smirking.

Keran giggled and covered her face with her hands. Yuxin wrapped her arm around Keran’s shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the temple.

“It’s true Keke,” she murmured in her ear, only for Keran to slap her leg and then turn to kiss her.

From the other side of the circle, Lin Fan yelled “stop being gross!”

“Hey,” Keran yelled back. “You wanted this!”

And she kissed Yuxin again just for good measure.

**Author's Note:**

> Doing this fic fest was so much fun, and I'm super inspired to write more for QCYN2 and The9 (probably PRXD next :) )
> 
> If you enjoyed, please leave me some comments and kudos, I really really appreciate it.
> 
> you can submit prompts to me here - cat-author.tumblr.com/ask


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